


Momentary Weakness

by nancypants (cah_avengers)



Series: prompt fills [2]
Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, some violence but it doesn't get too wild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-08 19:46:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13465272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cah_avengers/pseuds/nancypants
Summary: Let's re-imagine the events of the finale, hm?





	Momentary Weakness

**Author's Note:**

> prompts from heartmist12 on tumblr. thank you!

“Hey!” Daniel sees Kepler interfacing with the panel next to an airlock.

Kepler turns to look at him, his eyes widen as he takes in the state of him, bruised and bloody.

“If you don’t want to die on this fucking ship, you’re coming with me right now, and you’re helping me save everyone’s lives.”

That’s all it takes for Kepler to follow, help him carry the others, with the help of the brand new Doug 2.0 to the Urania for their escape. They get Hera transferred over just in time to detach from the Hephaestus and barely avoid passing the Red Line. 

Kepler takes it upon himself to get Minkowski hooked up to life support systems in the med bay. Once she’s awake, Daniel (reluctantly) checks Pryce’s vitals, gets her situated with the simple task of keeping an eye on Lovelace until she wakes up.

And then he catches Kepler in the med bay before he can leave and disappear to be alone elsewhere.  

Minkowski is unconscious, so they're as good as alone. Daniel clenches his jaw and punches Kepler hard across his face.

" _Ow!_ " Daniel cradles his hand to his chest and whimpers. That's right. His wrist is sprained, and his pinky finger might be very broken. 

Kepler cups a hand over his nose, brow furrowed. " _Daniel_."

"No... _no_. Shut up. You're a real piece of shit, Colonel." Daniel, ignoring the pain in his wrist, shoves Kepler back.

Kepler floats backward, heels catching on equipment until he comes to a stop, drops of blood escaping from between his fingers, floating in front of him.

That spurs Daniel on. He made him bleed. He's still a human, and he can hurt, and Daniel wants him to hurt  _more_ , because none of this is fair.

Daniel pushes himself forward and punches Kepler in the chest, yelling in frustration and pain as his injured hand connects with him.

A huff escapes Kepler's lips and his back lands against the wall with the transferred force of Daniel's punch. He braces his hands on the wall just in time for Daniel to punch him again, this time in the mouth. He groans, but says nothing.

Daniel hates that. He should be fighting back, or commanding Daniel to stop.

Kepler's lip is bleeding now, and the pain in Daniel's hand is searing. But he thinks. He thinks about how Kepler abandoned him, how he stood there, emotionless for Alana's funeral. How he was so god damn devoted to the  _Bigger Picture_  that he couldn't devote whatever shreds were left of his heart to giving a damn about her. About  _him_. About anything but the twisted, fucked up "picture" Goddard had made him see. He doesn't understand, because what Daniel had with Alana, with  _Warren_ , those nights cooking together, caring for each other's wounds in dark motel rooms, sharing something like affection, this unit that Daniel might have even called a family, where  _his_ Big Picture. It was so stupid and naïve of him, but it's the truth.

Daniel punches him. And again. He stops hitting his face; the sharp cheekbones and solid jaw against Daniel's hand have made tears spring to his eyes. His vision is blurred but he grabs Kepler's shoulder so he doesn't float away, punches his stomach. 

"Fuck you.  _Fuck you, Warren_." He grits his teeth, tears are falling from his eyes now, hanging in the space between them, wetting Daniel's face and hands. "I'm gonna make you wish you were dead."

His breath catches in his chest and he sobs. He doesn't mean to. He doesn't want to be this weak. He can feel his own warm blood somewhere on his scalp, spreading around his ear and down his neck. His hand feels like it's on fire, and everything  _hurts_. His chest feels wrong, like something is broken and stealing his breath. He's got burns from the explosion, cuts from debris, in too many places to count. And he's  _tired_. He's never felt so fucking tired.

Kepler hasn't retaliated. He waits, silent.

Daniel hangs his head and presses his forehead to Kepler's chest, wets his heather grey tshirt with tears and blood. He grips Kepler's shoulder tighter.

"Daniel..." Kepler takes Daniel's injured wrist and he sucks in a sharp breath. "You're hurt."

"So observant," Daniel snaps, suddenly wanting to be far away from him. He tries to pull away but Kepler holds him firmly but as gentle as he can manage.

"I don't know what the hell you did to get so battered, but I'm sure it was stupid. Now, I need you to calm down, and sit on that cot there so I can figure out what I need to do with you."

"Go to hell," he hisses through his teeth, but allows Kepler to pull him along.

Kepler secures him in place with velcro straps over his thighs to keep him in place while he works.

"I hate you," Daniel whispers.

Kepler glances at him, seemingly unfazed, then reaches for a med kit. "I know."

"Yeah...yeah,  _good_."

Kepler brings the kit closer, attaches it to velcro on the side of the bed, then begins undoing Daniel's jumpsuit.

"Should've shoved you into that airlock and let the star have you," he says, staring past Kepler, trying to ignore the pain as Kepler begins to check him over, pressing his fingers over his ribs, skimming over the red, just starting to purple bruises that litter his chest.

"Where did these come from?" He asks.

"Riemann unloaded a clip into my vest."

Kepler raises a brow and continues, applying more pressure to the ribs, testing for fractures.

" _Ow_ ," Daniel whines. 

"That one didn't feel right. You'll need to take it easy."

"Thanks, Doc." Daniel rolls his eyes, then braces himself when Kepler moves on to the more damaged hand.

"Rachel tried, by the way," he says, casually, and before Daniel can ask for clarification, he continues, "to eject me out of the airlock. But Hera jammed the outer door."

"What?" Daniel furrows his brow.

_"A momentary weakness,"_  Hera cuts in, reminding them just how omnipresent and observant she is.

Kepler chuckles and begins palpating Daniel's now obviously broken pinky finger.

Daniel squeezes his eyes shut and breathes through the pain, trying to piece the situation together to distract himself. "What happened to Rachel?"

"I shot her."

"Care to explain why?" Daniel asks through gritted teeth.

"Because she found me out."

"Would you just fucking spit it out already?"

Kepler sighs, doesn't meet Daniel's eyes. "I...rerouted power away from something Cutter needed to Hera. Just in case."

"You...but—"

"Don't look for any redeeming qualities. I don't have any." The statement is punctuated by Kepler licking the blood from his lip.

He was on their side. Daniel threw a tantrum and beat the shit out of Warren because he assumed he was an asshole from start to finish, and he just...took it. Daniel would have stopped if he had just  _known_.

Warren looks at him now, and huffs a soft laugh. "Stop. Stop looking at me like you've had an epiphany. So I put a failsafe into place so the world wouldn't be wiped out by the Decima Virus. That's hardly a full redemption arc."

Daniel swallows against the lump in his throat. "Why didn't you say? Why didn't you stop me?" Because you knew you deserved it anyway? Daniel wants to ask, but he doesn't.

Warren doesn't answer, he uses Daniel's distracted state to the wrench the bone of his finger back into place.

Daniel screams and then Warren's hand is there, curling around the back of his neck, pulling him closer.

"Shh, it's done." His fingers slide into Daniel's blood matted hair.

Daniel's scalp stings where a finger brushes over a cut, but he stays put, lets his fresh tears soak into Warren's shirt.

And then Warren's lips are pressing a kiss to Daniel's temple, slow, tentative.

Daniel is still angry, still reeling from events he's just come out of, but the shock has died down, the sting of it replaced with something duller. Warren is right; he hasn't redeemed himself with one rebellion after years devoted to something evil.

But by that logic, neither has Daniel. So what's the harm? He closes his eyes and lets Warren hold him, lets himself finally relax for the first time in days, even though his hand feels like someone has taken a mallet to it, and there are singed parts of his jumpsuit sticking to fresh burns along his forearms, and legs. Warren isn't done tending to his injuries, not by a long shot, but he'll take this moment of peace anyway.

He's going home. And Warren is coming with him. He won't have to figure out where he fits in his new world alone.


End file.
